Automatic target machine



April 1949- J. R. C(DNNELLY 2,466,6$6

AUTOMATIC TARGET MACHINE Filed March 22, 1946 2 Sheets-$heet ll,

April 1949- J. R. QONNELLY 2,466,686

AUTOMAT I C TARGET MACHINE Filed March 22, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 12, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (Granted, under the act of March-3, 1883, as.

amendedApril 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) Th invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to meof any royalty thereon.

This'application relates to anautomatic target changing machine and apparatus having similar functions;

In targeting rifles it has been necessary to have one person stationed at the target house to change targets or to hav some system of'remote control so that such change could beinitiated from the lobby of the range. Remote control devices have often entailed diffi'culties in installation and uncertainty of operation.

It is thereforethe purpose of this invention to: provide an apparatus for-successively incrementally advancing strip-like material, such as targets that ar simple and reliable in installation and in operation and are readily adapted to remote control so that targets may be changed quickly, such change being initiated from the range lobby.

The specific nature of the inventionv as. well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an nd elevational view of the targeting machine showing the arrangement of the feeding and driving rolls and supports therefor.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the targeting machine.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the switch utilized for making electrical contact through the perforated target strip.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuit.

Fig. 6 is a detail end view showing the resilient roller mountings.

Targets l are conveniently supplied printed on a long strip 2 of paper or any desirable material. The targets are spaced at intervals along the strip and, in accordance with this invention, contact holes 3 about three-quarters of an inch in diameter are supplied near one edge in fixed relation to the targets thereon. Strip 2 is wound on a roll 4 and such roll is mounted in a feed reel 5 from which it is drawn upward across the line of fire through a switch 6 by means of a constant speed driving assembly 1 and is rewound on a takeup reel 8.

The feed reel 5 is located below the firing level and comprises a frame I l which is provided with two pairs of downwardly sloping bearing slots l2 and iii; A shaft H! with bearings 15 and-a rake-drum 48 secured rigidly to one endis provided for supporting the roll, the bearings l5 being arranged to slidably fit into slots l2 and thereby support roll 4 in position. An arm I! with a weight l8'is rotatablysecured on a pivot 59 and is arranged so that weight l8 will hold arm il in firm contact with brake-drum HS thereby affording sufiicient frictional resistance to keep roll l from rotating except as tension is-applied. A c0unter-roll25 with bearings 26 is provided for assembly in slots 43.

The switch 5 is located, in the preferred embodiment, near-the ceiling of the shooting range but may-be in any convenient location, provided only that the relationship between the target and the contact holes 3 is coordinated therewith.

The switch comprises a bracket 3| to which are secured spindles 32 and 33, each beingelectrically insulated from the bracket, A series of contact blades 34 are loosely suspended on spindle 32. Their center of gravity is offset a. suflicient amount so that they will normally tend to maintain contact with a contact plate 35 mounted on spindle 33. The edge of paper strip Zpasses between contact blades 34 and contact plate 35 and thus electrical connection is made between these elements as each hole 3 in the paper passes therebetween. The upper and lower edges of the contact plate 35 are rounded as at 3B in order to assure their not catching on the strip 2 as it is drawn between the blades 34 and plate 35. Screw terminals 31 and 38 are provided for making electric connections to spindles 32 and 33 respectively.

After passing through switch 6, the strip 2 goes through the driving assembly I and. is rewound in the take-up reel 8. The take-up reel 8 comprises a frame 4! in which is provided a pair of downwardly sloping bearing slots 42. A roller 43 with bearings 44 to slidably fit in slots 42 is provided for rewinding strip 2.

A bracket on one end of fram 41 supports a conventional combination motor and gear reducer 5| which in the preferred embodiment are of one-half horse power and 96 to 1 reduction ratio respectively. A driving roller is directly connected to gear reducer 5| to turn at approximately 13 R. P. M. Two auxiliary rollers 56 and 51 are provided, arranged to bear against roller 55. Resilient mountings comprising bearings 58 and springs 59 are arranged so that auxiliary rollers 56 and 51 are resiliently maintained in firm contact with driving roller 55.

To operate the device the target roll 4 is mounted in feed reel 5 with the strip 2 passing under counter-roll 25 and then upward through switch 6 and over auxiliary roll 56 then passing between the auxiliary roll 56 and driving roller 55, around the driving roller and between it and auxiliary roll 51, over the auxiliary roll and then downwardly to the take-up roller 43 on which it is Wound.

On the end of roller 55 there is provided a V-pulley 60 and in alignment with it is another V-pulley 6| on the end of take-up roller 43. A conventional friction clutch 62 is provided for securing V-pulley 6| to take-up roller 43, and a V-belt 63 for connecting the pulleys. Clutch 62 permits slippage of V-belt 63 when the tension of paper strip 2 exceeds a certain limit thus obviating the danger of tearing such strip.

A simple electrical circuit, shown schematically in Fig. 5, is provided for operation and indexing of the target changer. The motor 5| is connected to a source of power 10 through a normally closed magnetic switch B. Switch B is in turn energized from voltage source 10 through the contact blades 34 and contact plate 35 of switch 6. Thus switch B opens the circuit to motor 5| each time a hole 3 in the target strip 2 passes through switch 6 thereby stopping motor 5|. Actuation of a push button D, located in the range lobby adjacent the shooter, energizes magnetic switch A thus starting motor 5 Such actuation of motor 5| advances target strip 2 until another hole 3 enters switch 6 whereupon magnetic switch B is again energized and opens the circuit thus stopping motor 5 A normally closed push button F is provided adjacent push button D so that the circuit can be opened at any time to stop motor 5|. Push buttons E and G, corresponding to push buttons D and F respectively, are provided in the target house adjacent the targeter to permit him to change targets when desired. A conventional automatic magnetic counter C may be included in the circuit if desired. Such is arranged to be actuated by push button D as shown in Fig. 5 and is useful for indicating the number of targets fired.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the apparatus herein described is not limited to target changing applications but may be applied to other applications requiring the successive incremental advancement of strip-like material having electrical insulating properties.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for successively incrementally advancing a length of strip-like electrically insulating material comprising, a driving roll engageable with said strip-like material, means ineluding an electric motor for rotating said driving roll, said strip-like material having a plurality of holes therein at intervals corresponding to the length of the desired increment of ad- Vance, electrical switch means responsive to the successive positioning of said holes relative thereto for de-energizing said electric motor, and manually operable means for energizing said motor independently of the condition of said electrical switch means.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said electrical switch means comprises a fixed contact plate disposed on one side of said striplike material in the path of said holes, and a plurality of contact fingers movably mounted on the other side of said strip-like material in overlying relationship to said contact plate and arranged to electrically engage said contact plate through each successive one of said holes.

JOHN R. CONNELLY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 398,186 Rehfuss Feb. 19, 1889 1,998,889 Wier Apr. 23, 1935 2,034,839 Sheffield Mar. 24, 1936 

